BUDGET: Increased Fuel Tax Will Hurt Common Man

Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka

The 2013/2014 Budget presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka shows a 50 shillings additional excise duty on fuel.
 

Maria Kiwanuka the country's Finance Minister
Maria Kiwanuka the country’s Finance Minister

This additional fuel levy was identified and proposed by the presidential advisory committee on the budget.

Road users including passengers, drivers, motorcyclists and other have expressed their views and worries on the additional levy saying that it is going to have a tall on their income.

Ivan Luyombo, a boda boda cyclist, said that it is absurd that government resorted to hiking taxes on fuel which helps Ugandans get products from their production areas in the market.

He said that with the additional levy they as boda boda cyclists are to also hike the fares that passengers pay which will be difficult for them to pay and grow their business as well.

Luyombo advised that instead of increasing fuel taxes government should have work on the roads which he said that they are impassable.

Moses Kizza, a passenger, said that the increase on fuel will affect passengers in terms of transport fares to their respective places of work and residence.

He said that government would have thought of any other way of getting the required money than resorting to increase on fuel since it affects a lot of businesses in the country.

Luyilika Henry, also a passenger, said that the fuel increment will affect the ordinary person who use public means because taxi drivers will use this as an advantage to hike taxi fares.

He added that this will not only affect passengers but other goods that are got by use of fuel citing food staffs and others.

Godfrey Nsereko, a driver, said that the additional levy will affect them since it will require drivers to have more money to fuel their vehicles in order to work.

The current petro price is between three thousand six hundred shillings (3600) and three thousand seven hundred shillings (3700).

This financial year budget different from the previous ones has been majorly funded by domestic resources of 81% leaving the 19% to development partner support and such increases on fuel and other have been attributed to means looked at to support the budget.

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